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Obituary for Charles L. Grove
Charles L. Grove, 87, of Brookings, passed away in Medford, Ore. on December 12, 2017.
Charles was born Jan. 11, 1930 in Long Beach, Calif. to Edward and Edith (Clanton) Grove. As a young man, Charles served two years in the Navy and then worked in the copper mines in Arizona. He met a beautiful nurse, Sabina Volk, in Long Beach, and married her on May 21, 1959. Shortly thereafter God blessed them with four children. He worked for the Los Angeles Fire Department for nine years, fighting the Bel Air brush fire in 1961, and fires in the Watts riot in 1965. In 1968 they moved to Boundary County, Idaho where he worked for the Forest Service and ran a small ferry boat, before acquiring licensing in heavy equipment and going to work for Louisiana Pacific Lumber company as a grader operator. He spent many years grading roads in the back woods of Northern Idaho, acquiring a love for the mountains which he shared with his children during Sunday drives, fishing and huckleberry gathering trips. He and Sabina appreciated good music, classical, folk and ethnic, as well as good literature and art. In his leisure time he wrote poetry and polemics, and captured his love of nature and people in photography. He moved his family to the east coast for a brief period before returning to northern Idaho. In 1981, the family moved to Reedsport, Oregon and Charles worked for the Bureau of Land Management until retirement in 1995. After retirement he and Sabina moved to Brookings to be closer to family. He enjoyed walking on the beach and visiting with his neighbors and was blessed in his last months with a great-granddaughter who was the light in his eyes
He is survived by three children, Dr. Stan Grove of Lander Wy., Valerie Cowan and husband Pete of Brookings and grandchildren Ben, Gemma, Shanon, and Ann Cowan and Royal Sybrandt and great granddaughter Mercy Rae; daughter Becky Schafer and husband Rob of Gold Beach, and grandchildren Sam, Joe and Maggy Schafer. He was preceded in death by his beloved wife, Sabina, daughter, Katherine and brother Edward.
A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated Tuesday, Dec. 19 at 11am, preceded at 10:30 by the Rosary, at Star of the Sea Catholic Church, 820 Old County Rd, Brookings. Interment is at Scottsburg Cemetery, Oregon, east of Reedsport at 1pm on Wednesday, Dec. 20.
Redwood Memorial Chapel is assisting the family. Condolences may be expressed online at www.redwoodmemorial.net.
